


The Single Dad's Club

by whatheship



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, IronStrange, M/M, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, depowered AU, wanda and peter are little kids in this lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-07-05 06:16:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15857910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatheship/pseuds/whatheship
Summary: Single fathers Tony Stark and Stephen Strange have barely attended their support group meetings. And the one day they do show up, they happen to attend on the same day. Taking a great interest to Stephen fast, Tony finally finds one good reason to show up to these stupid meetings.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys this is the first time I've ever written something for this ship, and I'm just really glad to see that the ironstrange fandom really blew up over the past year. I'm thankful for all you creators out there and I hope you have just as much a good time reading this as I have writing this!

 

 

 

The single dad's club, Tony thought, was a complete waste of his time.

 

His best friend Rhodey, on the other hand, thought otherwise.

Because it was Rhodey, who created a new e-mail for Tony to follow up on.

And it was that very same email that was used by Rhodey, to register for the club.

 

“You should go.” Rhodey said with a thin smile.

He was casually checking through Tony's email for any new club updates.

Tony hovered behind his friend, crossed his arms and glared at the bright screen.

“And if you won't do it for me, maybe you can do it for Peter.”

Tony reluctantly listened on as his shoulders slumped in defeat.

Rhodey saw this, and chuckled lightly. “Besides,” Tony could clearly remember the smirk forming on his friend's face as he spoke. “Maybe you'll find someone there.”

 

But Rhodey was dead wrong.

 

As much as Tony loved taking his closest friend's word for it, he strongly disagreed on what Rhodey proposed would happen.

Yes, Tony did show to a few meetings every now and then.

He sat in the back, stubborn and reluctant to participate in the casual conversations held by the other ‘single dads’ in the room. He couldn't care less about these men, their lives, or what sports their kids excelled at.

Because once 2:30 hit, he grabbed his jacket from behind his chair, and walked straight out of that room. It was time for him to drive Peter home from school, and he was not wasting another second in that dusty room.

None of those men were of interest to Tony, and they never would be.

 

That was until Stephen changed the game.

Correction- DOCTOR Stephen Strange.

 

Now, Stephen's story consists of _his_ best friend signing him up for the club.

 

Wong, as he told Stephen, apparently found a flyer nailed down to a pole on the sidewalk. The flyer proposed a club for single dads.

A support group, which Wong thought Stephen needed.

“Perhaps you could find a good role model, or another dad with a child Wanda could play with.” Wong suggested sternly while whipping the flyer in the air between his and Stephen's face.

Stephen snatched the flyer, staring Wong dead in the eyes before responding. “What makes you think something like this is up my alley?”

“It is if you want to be a better father to your daughter.”

 

And with that, Stephen too found a way to clear his schedule so he could drop in on meetings.

And by drop in on meetings, he would show up, at most, once a week for 30 minutes or less, then leave abruptly.

Just like Tony, he had places to be.

Anywhere but here.

At least showing up little by little would make Rhodey and Wong happy.

Even if Tony wasn't making any progress finding someone worthwhile, and Stephen never found a good enough kid for Wanda to hang out with.

 

But it was that following Wednesday, Tony never expected to meet a kindred soul.

 

The club was held in a building in the heart of New York. The owner, at least the one renting the room to hold the meetings in, was a humble older man name Mr. Mandel ***** , but he openly wanted everyone to refer to him as David.

He himself was a father as well. He even had several children around Tony's age.

Now, David was always open to Tony joining their group sessions, but most importantly, participating in them.

And today, was no different.

Once the meeting began, all the dads sat in a circle around David. Tony, as per usual, took his regular seat in the back of the group- which kind of set off the shape of what David wanted, but he always seemed to put up with Tony's rebellious attitude. The older man wasn't a stickler for rules; so as long as Tony didn't keep a commotion back there, David was fine with it.

Now, Tony couldn't say their group wasn't diverse. There were a few faces Tony could blatantly recognise from his corner of the room. There contained a few men his age, some of whom looked even younger, and then all the other outliers were people who Tony thought were as young as teenagers.

There were good men in this group if he ever cared to pay enough attention, but he didn't.

To start off and ease the tension, David recommended an open floor, so a few dads began talking about their week.

Now this is the part where Tony zoned off.

He thought about counting the minutes away like Peter would, since Peter would still be in his last class at this time, waiting for school to let out.

So his eyes scanned the room for a clock on the wall. He found the door to the room, which was used as an exit and entrance, then found the handy clock all the way to the right, striking exactly 2 o'clock.

He would be here for a while.

Tony sighed openly and spread his legs so he could tap the blue plastic chair below him.

In the few seconds he lost himself to mentally pushing the minute hand on the clock farther up its path, the door opened wide, and the man walking through it caught Tony's eye.

He had a slender figure, and wore a loose blue vest covered over a white collared long sleeve shirt.

He even had a GREAT set of facial hair around those pink pair of lips.

Tony, being bored enough, kept staring unabashedly. His eyes dropped lower to make out the shape the man's tight jeans did to his thighs.

When his scoping was done, Tony couldn't help but feel that this newcomer wasn't a regular either.

I mean, the way this man equally slumped into his seat as he sat down, and he did slump after dropping ridiculously hard on the chair. You could even see how his grey locks jumped a little in the air from the impact.

Tony smirked. He felt like they were the only two men who were reluctant to come here. The other man was several chairs too far for Tony to actually say a word to him, but if they were sitting any closer, he would give him props for that performance.

Now, maybe Tony might have given off the wrong signal, because while he stared, the other man made a double take just to make sure Tony was actually looking at him, and when he did figure that out, cheekbones gave Tony such a dirty look that made Tony turn his attention right back to David.

And that too, was a mistake.

Because then, their lovely host locked eyes with Tony as well, and formed a smirk, which you could barely see underneath all that greying facial hair.

“Tony, would you like to say a few words?” David was awfully persistent. “You have been with us for weeks now. I would love to hear your story.”

The whole group seemed to turn on their chairs simultaneously just to get a good look at Tony while he spoke.

“Uh.. Okay?” Tony puckered his lips and blew out a sharp breath of air to control his sudden anxiety.

He didn't have a problem with public speaking, hell, between him and Rhodey, he spoke a whole lot. And when it came to talking about Peter, he would speak a lot more.

Tony opened his mouth to find that cheekbones was also giving him his undivided attention.

“Hey, so, I'm Tony Stark.” He started off actually introducing himself because he realised at this moment, he never did so to this group for being so quiet these past few weeks.

“I work as mechanic in this company my roommate and I started up in college. All good stuff dealing with robotics, which we firmly believe is the future of technology.”

Tony licked his dry lips and tried looking around the room as he spoke. His voice never wavered, though he felt like he was underplaying what he actually did. No matter, if anyone wanted to meet after this he would definitely blow them away.

“I have a seven year old son named Peter. I adopted him a few years back. He's an amazing kid-” Tony hated how repetitive he sounded compared to the other dads: “my kid is amazing, smart, creative-” obviously as a parent he thinks that. He bet if anyone said otherwise they would get their parenting license revoked or something.

“Peter's into STEM like I was growing up. He skipped a grade, so he's in fourth this year, and he's already been accepted into several private schools across the country. Each year is just another chance for him to excel. I couldn't be more proud of him. ”

Tony saw that some dads in the corner of the room nodded their heads, clearly impressed.

Tony responded to their admiration with a cheeky smile. Cheekbones, the whole while, was watching Tony curiously.

“Thank you for sharing, Tony.” David nodded slowly. “Peter sounds like a wonderful child. And has an equally wonderful father to boot.”

Tony nodded right back as David asked cheekbones for his story.

This, Tony thought, should be good.

Cheekbones seemed chill at the motion, crossed his legs and cleared his throat, as if he was about to tell the wildest story this group had ever heard.

“My name is Doctor Stephen Strange.” Tony rolled his eyes at how Stephen stressed his title. “I work as a neurosurgeon, the best in my field.” So, Tony figured, this guy wasn't going to underplay his story at all. “I have a nine year old daughter, Wanda. She’s in the fifth grade.” Tony noticed how Stephen nodded as he spoke. “She's shown exceptional attention to the arts. Dancing, painting, even cinematography. She loves expressing herself, which is usually what they expect for kids her age. But she… she is _brilliant_ at it.”

Stephen’s lips formed this peculiar v-shape as he smiled even wider. “Her talents exceed no bounds. And you wouldn't begin to imagine the amount of gas money I save just so I can drive her to her violin and piano lessons,” as some of the other fathers chuckled in agreement, the doctor had pulled out one hand just so he could count off by finger, “art contests, concerts, and she's even starting to take ballet lessons this year. By the time she enters high school, she'll have an impressive resume.”

Tony scoffed lightly and turned in his seat so he could face forward. So the doctor's kid could draw real good. So what. Peter could create blueprints in his sleep.

“I just want to thank you both for sharing your experiences with us.” David looked to both men and smiled a big ol’ toothy grin. “I would love to hear more, but now is the time where we break for a few minutes.” People already started moving their chairs to sit in groups or walk around. The room quickly filled with the echoes of stumbling feet, and chairs being dragged across the tiled floor, creating a terrible screeching sound. “Feel free to converse with other fathers, trade phone numbers, and well, even more stories!” Tony stood up and stretched, keeping one eye open to see where Stephen diverted to. “We'll reconvene after 10 minutes. And don't forget to help yourselves to the spread behind me.”

Tony spent a few seconds checking the time. He had a few minutes to kill before leaving to pick his son up from school. Usually, he would be on his way right now, but, seeing as though he had a few minutes to kill…

Tony let himself get distracted by letting his eyes follow the path of where the doctor walked. Stephen made a rush to the coffee table, and that's exactly where Tony found himself too.

The doctor had his back to the mechanic, already pouring himself a nice hot cup, and showing off the view to his equally hot backside.

A humorous voice spoke from behind the doctor. “The ‘arts,’ huh?” Tony walked up, eyes wavering from the curve in the doctor's jeans while pulling his hands out of his pockets just to let himself lean against the table. “Peter never got the hang of that stuff. Sure the kid doodles a lot of the schematics for my projects, but it's nothing he would enter in an art contest.”

Tony shrugged and continued to watch Stephen fail to ignore him as the doctor poured cream and sugar into his cup. “Now if we're talking real arts, the kid can design a pretty good robot. Pete’s been entering all these robotic competitions. You heard of the FLL? First Lego League? Yeah. Heh. His team has never lost a match.”

Stephen started to mix his ingredients with the coffee brew. Tony had quieted down long enough to expect a response. So a response was what Stephen gave him. “Peter sounds very impressive, Mr. Stark.” Tony could hear the sarcasm laced in the doctor's voice. “Though if you want to talk about real talent, I suggest you look to my daughter. She's very well rounded. At age 4 she was already practicing the piano. Wanda has one in her bedroom, and a second for her to practice in the living room if she wants a larger atmosphere. The violin was a small hobby that a friend recommended, and she picked up on that fast. Eventually, she started to express herself in paintings. A few of her personal works won several contests and were even featured in a museum for a few weeks.”

“I thought you said she was well rounded, doctor,” Tony smirked, “doesn't that include academics as well?”

Stephen turned to face him. He loudly sipped from his cup before responding. “I know what you're thinking.” His baritone was deeper up close. If Tony was any less agile, he would be shivering at every word. And dam, this man was tall, Tony just tried to make do and tilt his chin up just enough to not make himself, and Stephen, uncomfortable. “Me, a man of science, who has a daughter who would rather spend her time making a paper mache diaphragm of the human body than operating on one.”

Tony caught on to his humor fast. “I know what you mean. I know I said a lot about Peter taking after me, but I swear when I give that kid a option to work with me in the lab, or to go play, he'd rather hang with his friend and build Lego robots.” Tony scoffed, shook his head lightly and grabbed a cup for himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Stephen took a liking to his comment. The doctor was smirking beautifully behind his cup, hiding his grin like it was a secret he was trying to keep from the mechanic. But the glint in his silver eyes gave Stephen away.

“Ah, you know what?” Tony slipped his right hand to the back of his jeans so he could take out his phone. “I’ve got a pic of Peter right on my lockscreen. See, look-” Stephen didn’t need to lean over to peer into the mechanic’s phone, Tony help the device up to the doctor’s face so he could get a good view.

Tony’s son Peter, was sitting on a carpeted floor, probably in his bedroom, as he raised a lego brick over what looked to be half of a Lego Death Star. His brunette hair was combed and parted, and his blue eyes reflected what Stephen could say was pure happiness. This was a picture of childhood at it’s best, and if Stephen didn’t know any better, Tony had the talent of capturing moments perfectly on film. Tony scanned the doctor’s face as Stephen smiled fondly at the bright screen before it dimmed and turned off. “He’s adorable, Mr. Stark.”

“Heh. Thanks. And call me Tony.” The mechanic smiled back and slid his phone into his back pocket.

Stephen in turn, took out his own. He tapped the screen with his thumb, probably putting in a password, and turned the device around so Tony could see the little girl in the background picture.

Luckily, Stephen didn’t have too many apps blocking the way. Tony could see a curly haired redhead holding up a violin. Her arm and elbow were held in the air as she raised her bow just slightly above the strings. Stephen seemed to capture a moment where Wanda had her father as her audience, while she performed a song for him. Wanda’s eyes were closed; Tony could see the girl was concentrating hard to the rhythm she planned to play. There was an acute elegance to her posture that made the girl seem far more mature than she let on. She probably got that from her father.

“Cute kid.” Tony nodded at Stephen. The doctor smirked in response as he too drew back his phone and put it away in his own pocket.

Tony took a long sip from his cup while he examined the surgeon further. Everything about Stephen just seemed to accent him so well. He was definitely getting old, you could tell by the grey in his temples. (Though, Tony had a strong feeling that was caused by stress and not age.) And Tony was already checking out Stephen before, but this man screamed high class, even if his appearance did look a little sluggish at first.

 

At this moment in time, Tony felt like going back on his word about thinking Rhodey was wrong.

Maybe he _did_ find someone here.

 

“Hey..” Tony put down his cup and they locked eyes again. Though his eyes met a much kinder pair than he did at the start of the meeting. “You wouldn't happen to be interested in uh..” Stephen quirked a brow at Tony's attempt at a proposal, “possible playdate for our kids?”

“We could start small. Go to the park, maybe?” The mechanic shrugged nonchalantly to give off the vibe that it didn't matter even if the doctor said no.

And it took Stephen the longest minute of Tony's life to respond.

“You know what?” Stephen wore a smile that could brighten the rest of Tony's days. “I think I might have to take you up on that.”

 

 

 

 

_***** I named the club host David Mandel because I envisioned him as my history teacher from last year, solely by name and personality- just a small sidenote from my life lol_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just started school, so I can't promise updates as fast as you'd expect. But thanks for reading this far anyway! I've got the whole plot planned and if you stick around it's going to be a crazy ride.


	2. Getting to Know You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really want to thank everyone for the amazing feedback I got with the first chapter, comments AND kudos. I was so excited that a lot of people liked this, that this chapter was actually written on the same night the prologue was published. This ship and the fans are great, thank you guys for your support!

That Saturday was hot.

Luckily, that wasn't stopping the mechanic and his son from missing this playdate. They were smart, and they knew a way to beat the heat.

“Here, Pete.” Tony handed his son a water bottle. “Stay hydrated.”

“Thanks, dad!” The cheery little brunet smiled a big toothy grin at his father.

Tony chuckled and ruffled Peter's combed hair. “Remember,” he winked, “H2O's the way to go.”

Peter laughed loudly, despite his previous small protest at his father ruining his perfectly parted hair. “Hehehe-” he giggled, “that rhymed!” Peter took a single sip from the bottle before his blue eyes lit up like they do every time he gets a new idea. “Ooh! I've got another! What about-”

But the boy's idea was already ignored. Tony had his head turned to check for any familiar faces appearing down the street.

Walking in from the corner of the park, the doctor and his daughter arrived right on schedule.

Of course he's punctual, Tony thought.

But that didn't stop a smile from sneaking onto his face anyway.

Stephen, dressed in a grey button down shirt- which complemented his eyes, and wore a pair of black jeans where his hands were currently fisted into. The little girl, who Tony suspected was the doctor's daughter, Wanda, had ran beside her father, and caught up to Tony and Peter before Stephen could.

Wanda, who Tony could easily mistaken for a red haired Rapunzel- mainly for her curly bouncing head of red hair, wore a dark red vest over a black tank top and black skirt.

If Tony didn't know any better, he felt ashamed enough to think he and Peter were underdressed.

Compared to Tony's black t-shirt and jeans, and Peter's Star Wars tee, these two families could easily be mistaken for going to two different places.

I mean, he did tell Stephen they were meeting at a park. Why did they look as if they were arriving to a concert hall?

It was like a clash of casual vs classy.

“Glad you guys could make it.” Tony greeted almost breathlessly at the sight of Stephen.

His eyes diverted down to Wanda. “And you must be Wanda.” He smiled brightly at her.

The red head took her left hand from behind her back and held it out for Tony to shake. “Mr. Stark, it's a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Her smile was thin lipped and polite. “Please, just call me Tony.” He responded right back. They shook hands once and she moved her hand so Peter could take it. “Hi, I'm Wanda.” Peter smiled excitedly at the sudden attention he received and tried to shake her hand as firmly as Wanda did. “I'm Peter, it's nice to meet you too!”

Once Wanda introduced herself, she placed her left hand right behind her back, and crossed it over with the right.

After that performance, Tony blinked slowly at how professional Wanda acted, which should be no surprise, considering the vibe you get from Stephen.

The doctor parted his lips, “I'm sorry to say we can't stay for too long.” Something panged in the mechanic's chest. “Wanda has an audition to go to in about an hour.”

“Oh. I didn't know you had to leave so soon-” Tony trailed off. Suddenly he couldn't look Stephen in the eyes. “I thought um, after the kids played a little we could buy us some icecream? But that was just.. something we could save for later- it's no big deal- I don't want to ruin your plans.”

“I know.” The doctor mused with an mocking frown. “I would have told you sooner, but you just sounded so excited to meet again.” Stephen's smile was too smug to ignore.

It almost gave Tony hope that the doctor would change his mind.

“Well, anyway.” Stephen rubbed his hand into his daughter's curly hair. “Wanda didn't exactly bring running shoes. But I'm sure she's still up to play, is that alright, Wanda?” Stephen cast his gaze upon the girl.

“Sure, father, I'll be alright.” She responded on beat. Wanda uncrossed her arms from behind her back and stared down at Peter, who's giddy eyes had been staring curiously at her the whole time.

“You have a lot of hair.” Peter was practically gaping at her now.

Wanda blushed and let her hands comb nervously at a few red strands. “Oh! I.. uh-”

“Do you wanna play tag? Let's play tag. Let's go over here-” Peter already turned and ran onto the matted surface where the playground began.

“Go easy on her, Pete!” Tony called after him.

Wanda gasped as the younger boy dashed ahead of her.

“Go ahead, Wanda.” Stephen ordered his daughter.

And without looking back, she ran right after Peter.

 

For a moment, Stephen watched his daughter catch up to the mechanic's son, and Tony watched Stephen stare at their kids.

“Hey!” Tony's call snapped the doctor right out of his focus. “Let's sit. We gotta find ourselves a bench.”

Stephen nodded and followed Tony to the closest unavailable bench. They both sat with a huff on their lips. Parenting was tiring for sure.

It was quiet for a moment, Stephen's eyes were watching his daughter for quite some time. A minute or so passed and the doctor crossed his legs. “So.” Tony's eyes never left Stephen's face. “An audition, huh? Wanda's talent really exceeds no bounds. She's really working a lot-”

“And so do I.” Stephen interrupted; and without turning his face, he could see Tony from the corner of his eyes. “I think it's better that she's out doing her work while I'm at the hospital.” He admitted. “I don't want her to be home alone.”

“...Have.. you ever thought about a nanny?” Tony asked, forcing himself to contribute something to the conversation.

And Stephen seemed to frown at that offer. “No. I don't need any help raising Wanda.”

Tony sighed and rubbed the side of his nose. Then he let his hand drop against his thigh.

“Uh, heh. I think I get what you mean. But, Wanda seems so mature for her age.”

“Thank you.”

“Yeah. And if you ask me, she could probably stand being home alone. I mean, with me and Pete, I need to be there to watch him, definitely. If I'm not around? He'll get real creative with my tools.”

“Then lock your lab.”

Tony waved one hand. “No, no.. I don't want to do that too him. I don't want to create barriers between me and Pete. I keep my lab open so he can know that it's there for him to explore with caution. Though I do keep security cams in the halls just in case.” He smirked to himself. “When I bought them, I even got Pete to help me wire them in.”

Stephen didn't respond to that.

Clearly he lost interest when Tony thought he could give input to his way of parenting.

The mechanic sighed again.

They both decided to turn their attention back to their children.

It looked like Peter got more kids to play with them. And instead of tag, it liked like their group upgraded to freeze tag.

Wanda was running slowly because of her dress shoes, and a taller kid chased after her.

She stumbled over, but didn't fall, and wasn't able to outrun the other boy.

Tony's lip curled into another smirk as he saw how Stephen flinched at Wanda's loss of balance.

“How _is_ your work, by the way?” Tony broke the silence again.

“Good, actually.” Stephen's attention was still on Wanda. “I cleared my schedule for the past two days so I could help Wanda prepare for her piano audition.”

“That's cool.” Tony cupped his chin so he could thoughtfully rub at his beard.

“Y'know, all week I set aside all my time to help Peter and his FLL group. Do you remember I mentioned that?”

“I do.”

“Yeah, well, they're really aiming for the gold, of course, and I know he's going to get it. Pete's the only programmer on his team so he's already taught their robot how to track sensors and pick up objects.”

“He really seems to like robots, Tony.” Stephen commented mockingly.

Tony blinked once at that comment.

“Hey, Stephen, I've been meaning to ask you.”

God is good because this time, Stephen turned acutely so he could give Tony the bare minimum of his undivided attention.

“How did a dad like you get into that single father's club anyway?”

“Well,” Stephen immediately scoffed, “It's a funny, story.” He gestured with his hand, which Tony thought was cute. “Well, at least _I_ think so.”

“No- tell it anyway.” Tony was practically laughing already. “I'm in the mood to laugh.”

“You sure sound like you are.” Stephen responded right back- which almost sounded like he was teasing Tony. “Alright, so, I was already home from work. I'm.. tired as hell, and my friend, Wong-”

“Wait- Just Wong.”

“Yes.”

“Like, Beyonce?”

“Yes, and ironically, he loves her too. Practically STANS her.” Stephen began to chuckle. Tony beamed proudly that he already got the man laughing. “This.. is a little off topic, but-”

“Go ahead.” Tony grinned and waved his hand to give Stephen permission to continue.

“As I once recall, he even called her BAEyonce.” Stephen snorted and bit his lip while Tony laughed a little louder.

“This Wong guy sounds great already.”

“Hah.” Stephen shook his head, which seemed to irritate a strand of hair on his head that suddenly fell out of place. “But, back to my previous story, he caught me at a time where I was just about ready to relax, and he goes and waves this paper in my face!” He rolled his eyes, like he was annoyed at Wong once again by reliving this story. But Tony was enjoying every minute of it. “Wong tells me this flyer in his hand is talking about some ridiculous ‘single’ dad's club. And then he threatens me-”

“He _threatened_ YOU?”

“Yes, he threatened _me_ , and I found myself going to those meetings weekly.”

Stephen paused so he could watch Tony laugh some more.

The doctor's smile was small and genuine, and Tony wiped his eye before looking back at Stephen.

“Why is this so funny to you?” He grinned.

“I don't know about you, but I'm still on that Baeyonce bit-”

They both broke out in laughter again.

Tony's was louder and cheerful, while Stephen's was small and short. The doctor chuckled briefly, like he was still unsure how this man got him to laugh, but it felt good and he tried to ride out the laugh a little longer.

“Hah. Oh, God.” Tony rubbed his side.

“Hah. So uh, what about you, why did you join?”

“Well, I've got an even funnier story. It just so happens my friend likes Baeyonce too.”

Stephen's lip quivered so he bit it again to keep himself from laughing. 

Tony would love to hear that deep chuckle again, but as long as Stephen's eyes were on him, he was happy.

“Okay, seriously though, my best friend Rhodey, he actually surprised me and signed me up for the club last minute. There was no arguing, or threatening- but I only went because it's something to do.”

“Really.” Stephen almost lost that beautiful smile. But his response was so dry that it felt like the doctor was on to Tony's little game. Like Stephen knew Tony only went to those meetings until a hot guy could show up and they both wouldn't be single enough to qualify for the club any longer.

“Yes.. really.” Tony lied and flicked some imaginary dust from his jeans.

There was another awkward break in the conversation.

He gulped before nervously raising his head to look at Stephen.

He could see the youth reappearing in the surgeon's grey eyes, lighting them to a calm baby blue as beautiful as the sky above them; Like a few laughs was just what the doctor ordered.

And it was in that moment Tony felt the need to say: “I want to see you again.”

There was pause, the same one he got when Stephen waited to agree to their first meet.

“I-”

“DAD!” Wanda screeched and limped impossibly quick to her father. “Ugh, my shoes are stained, what am I going to do!?”

Stephen had stared coldly at her the moment she interrupted them, luckily, Wanda wasn't upset because she got hurt, it was because she got dirty. 

“I knew this would happen.” Stephen's gaze diverted from Tony to his daughter once again, and he squeezed her shoulders. He sighed. “I have an emergency pair in the car for this exact reason.”

“Oh, thank you dad!!!” She fell onto his chest and hugged him. Stephen was covered in a maze of red hair, as the little girl underneath it all practically sobbed with thanks.

Stephen sighed again and patted his daughter's back slowly. He looked to Tony who too, was just recovering from the interruption and said, “kids,” with a light shrug.

Stephen nodded back and raised his right arm hidden underneath the tangle of hair and checked his watch. “Oh- Wanda, honey, we were supposed to leave ten minutes ago- we're going to be late-”

And just like that, Wanda picked her head up from her father's chest and looked just as shocked as Stephen did.

They both stood up right as Peter walked over.

“Hey..” He squeaked shyly. “Are.. your shoes okay?”

“Yes, they will be.” Wanda took five deep breaths to calm herself down. And it was as if all the panic just mere minutes ago had never happened, Wanda followed her dad's solemn features and faced the two likely engineers.

“We have to leave.” Stephen admitted. And Tony could almost catch the hint of sadness in the doctor's voice.

Tony opened his mouth to intervene but Stephen interrupted him. “ **Now** , Tony.” He pressed his lips into a thin line. “I'll… call you later to see if we can reschedule-”

“Bye!” Wanda waved once at Peter and Tony.

“Uh-” Tony said dumbly as he watched without moving and taking Stephen into his arms and begging him to stay, as the doctor and his daughter turned on their heels and walked out of the park.

Peter felt how distressed his father was, even if he didn't know why. So to help, he took his little hands and held onto Tony's legs, pulling him into a hug.

“Thanks, buddy.” He said with a huff and patted Peter's sweaty hair.

“At least he said he'll call you?” Peter reminded him curiously and raised his chin to watch his dad's reaction.

And somehow, that seemed to cheer Tony right up.

The mechanic smiled brightly and kneeled so he could pull his son into a tight hug. “Hey, you are _so_ right, kid.”

Peter returned his smile.

“So... why don't I say we get out of here and get us some icecream?”

And somehow the mention of icecream seemed to cheer Peter right up too.


	3. And He Called Him

 

“You didn't talk with your d!ck- did you, Tones?”

 

“ _ No _ , Rhodey.” The mechanic was full blown serious as he trudged up and down the lab in deep thought.

 

“Oh.  _ Okay _ .” Rhodey said without masking his disbelief. The lieutenant rubbed his chin as he watched his friend fume about the room. Tony had crossed his arms over his sleeveless black tee and glared at the tiled floorboards in some sort of intense concentration. “So ah.. when are you calling him?”

 

“No, you don't get it.”

 

“ _ Yeah _ ?”

 

“He's supposed to call  _ me _ . That's what he said.”

 

“And he didn't call you back yesterday... or today.” Rhodey reminded him as his smug grin grew wider at his friend's clear agitation.

 

“ _ Yet _ .”

 

“Right…” Rhodey pursed his lips and gave Tony that doubtful look. He sat up in his stool behind the cleanest table in the lab- the one with the  **least** amount of discarded metals, toolboxes, and clipped wires (this lab can be a mess when Tony wants it to be).

 

The engineer scoffed and continued his rut.

 

Rhodey began to to ask. “So what are you going to tell this guy when he calls?”

 

“His name is Stephen, Rhodey.”

 

“Right. Yeah. You told me he's a surgeon and all.”

 

“Yeah, anyway, I'm thinking I could invite him to one of Peter's robotics games. I mean, I know it's not artsy or anything about medicine, but it's something to do. And.. I want to see him again.”

 

There was a long moment of silence. Rhodey rubbed his arms. He was tired of watching his best friend get so worked up.

 

“Tony you should work on something. Keep yourself busy until he calls.”

 

The engineer was already ignoring his advice. He knew Stephen would call. It was a matter of time. The doctor was a professional, it just seemed so… out of character for him not to. Oh, he'll definitely get back to Tony. I mean, why not, Tony was so charming in the park and-

 

“You can't just wait around again for some guy, you've got your own li-”

 

Tony cut him off the moment his phone rang. As he rushed over to the table he held out a hand to tell Rhodey to hold that thought.

 

“Doc’! Hey..” the lieutenant grinned at Tony's rapid change of attitude. The mechanic was practically  _ glowing _ . ”I was wondering when you'd call.” Tony replied calmly while he scratched the back of his head. He rested his left elbow on the opposite table from Rhodey as his right hand held the phone. He tried to dodge the knowing look Rhodey aimed at him.

 

“Yes, well, I just remembered I needed to reschedule with you.” The doctor trailed off then went quiet.

 

Tony nodded to himself like they were having this conversation face-to-face.

 

“I- well, Peter AND I had a good time Saturday.”

 

“Yeah, we did too.” Stephen grunted. Tony could hear the faint sounds of a knife rapidly cutting against a table. “I'm sorry again- that we had to cut it- so short like that-” There was a brief pause on Stephen's side.

 

“Hey, are you alright?” Tony asked, concerned about the sounds he was hearing over the phone. He switched hands as he listened intently.

 

“Yes..” The doctor responded truthfully. Then he sighed. “I'm... cooking lunch for Wanda and me.”

 

“Oh! Cool- I didn't know you cooked.” Tony replied, growing a bit more interested.

 

“You never asked.”

 

“And  _ you _ never kept up a conversation.” The mechanic teased further.

 

“If I remember correctly, I could hardly say a thing without you laughing at every word.” Stephen added with a hint of concern in his voice.

 

“What else can I say, you're a funny, guy, doc’.”

 

“Those weren't jokes, Mr. Stark.”

 

“BAEyonce wasn't a joke?” Tony asked on the brink of laughter.

 

“No, actually.” The doctor replied thoughtfully. “Wong takes her  _ very _ seriously.”

 

“Wong's a good joke too. I  _ love  _ his story.”

 

By this time, Tony had already twirled on his heels twice, so his back was facing Rhodey, and he was grinning so hard as he leaned over the table’s surface. He bit his lip and his heart skipped a beat. He couldn't wait to hear Stephen's slick response.

 

“ _ Well _ ,” Tony could HEAR the smugness in the doctor's voice. “When you put it  _ that _ way..”

 

“Alright, alright.” Tony chuckled and turned around. Rhodey was eyeing him in a way to say “get it over with.”

 

Tony in turn, shyly diverted his gaze from Rhodey. “So... how's your schedule looking this week, doc’?”

 

“Not too busy. Wanda and I are seemingly free.”

 

“So does that mean no surprise auditions or recitals?”

 

“ _ No _ .”

 

Tony bit his lip. It sounded like Stephen was trying to do the same, hold in a laugh like he did at the park. It just gave Tony a bit of pleasure to see the man break character like that. He bet with a little time, Stephen could grow comfortable with him and just… laugh freely.

 

“I'm just making sure, Stephen. I want to clear things up between us before we move forward.”

 

“Do  _ you  _ have any plans?”

 

“Actually, yeah.” Tony stroked at his beard. “Pete's robotics match is next Saturday. I think you guys should meet us there.”

 

“Robotics.” Stephen thoughtfully hummed. His voice seemed to travel through the cords and vibrate Tony's whole phone. It gave the left side of his ear a pleasant massage. Y'know. Science logic and all.

 

Tony heard a sizzle and a crack on the other side. Stephen must be frying something now.

 

“I should have asked earlier, but what do I hear cooking?”

 

“A bit of salmon.”

 

“Yeah? We should all go out for seafood sometime. You guys like.. buffets?”

 

“No.”

 

Of course Mr. Fancy wouldn't. He's probably one of those people who thinks buffets are unsanitary.

 

“Yeah, okay. I'll just find a classier restaurant for us next time, like McDonald's.”

 

“Pfft-”

 

“So, do you think you can make it to the match?”

 

“Just send me the times and directions.”

 

“Great! Good. We'd love to have you guys there. Anyway- um- have a good lunch.”

 

“Thanks. We will-”

 

“And don't burn anything, doc.”

 

“I won't.”

 

He chuckled lightly. Then Tony listened in to the light sound of oil cracking in the background.

 

Some people might find it annoying, but he didn't mind the breaks of silence between their conversations.

 

He could envision Stephen calm and dapper, cutting away at the vegetables on the counter. Probably a mix of carrots, celery, and lettuce for a pre-dinner salad (he just took Stephen for a kind of a health freak, being a doctor and all). He could also guess Stephen would be amazing at working a knife. His hand pressed firmly to the dull side of the knife, as he cut away at the slab of fish. In a matter of seconds, he would have perfectly cut pieces of meat ready to fry. The perks of being a surgeon.

 

“Well I'm glad we could talk.” Tony broke the silence with a hopeful voice. “It was good hearing from you, Stephen. And tell Wanda I said hi.”

 

“I will. Have a good evening, Tony.”

 

“Yeah, you too. Later.” The phone cut off and Tony released the breath he had been holding.

 

“Well?” Rhodey the spectator asked. His eyes were gleaming with the hilarity of the scene that just came to a close.

 

Tony shoved the phone in his back pocket and blushed accordingly. “Don't give me that look. Hey- what's so funny?”

 

“My  _ God _ , Tony, I wish you could have seen yourself.” Rhodey was grinning as wide as he did from the beginning of their conversation. “You should have been on FaceTime with him so even HE could see how hard you were blushing.”

 

“Common, man, what are you talking about?” Tony passed Rhodey as he walked to a mini fridge sitting to the side of the room to take out a water bottle. Once he had the drink in his hand, he turned to face his friend.

 

“God you were squirmin’ around and such. You know what, you could probably see the whole thing on tape if we go through those fancy behind security cams you installed.” Rhodey's eyes searched the room to see if he could spot any. But alas, he should have known these things were hidden.

 

“Funny.” Tony replied dryly.

 

“I'm serious Tony, you really sound as if you like this guy.” Rhodey shrugged, giving him half credit.

 

The mechanic only scoffed as if it were a completely unbelievable accusation. “Hey, remember, I'm only in it so Peter can find a friend, y'know?”

 

“Yeah, right.” Rhodey rolled his eyes as he rounded the counter and Tony followed.

 

The lieutenant dropped his hand against the engineer's shoulder, and soon, the two men were eye to eye.

 

“Tony, your head may be in the right place, but your heart? Whoo..” Rhodey's face saddened for the moment. “I can see it all over your face.”

 

Tony had taken a sip of water and he gulped it down a dry throat. He could barely make eye contact with Rhodey.

 

“You might not have it bad now? But it's only a matter of time-” there was a pause. “And maybe it will work out for you this time around.” He pulled Tony into a lazy hug. “You know I only wish the best for you. I just hope this one doesn't hurt you too.”

 

“Stop it.” Tony warned lightly with a small smile as they pulled apart. “Hey, so, are you gonna be able to make it to the match Saturday?”

 

“Dam, I don't think I can. Got a meeting.”

 

“Okay, Mr. Promotion.”

 

They shared a laugh. “Ah, not yet. Soon though, I feel it.” Rhodey chuckled one last time. “It's gonna work out for both of us.”

 

“I know.”

 

“Tell Peter I had to get on the road early this time.” Rhodey stepped away as he started to walk out of the lab and down the hall. “I'll catch up with you guys later,” he quickly turned around on his heel before adding, “and you remember to tell me how Saturday goes, okay?”

 

“Yeah!” Tony grinned and waved his friend goodbye.

 

Saturday. Saturday was big. If everything went according to plan, Peter would be coming home with a trophy, and maybe, just maybe, Tony would too. 

 


	4. Round One

 

 

Lord have mercy he was going to be **_late_ **.

 

It was _already_ 10:15 A.M., and Tony was still stuck in the same dammed office with several of his company's most stubborn sponsors.

 

Earlier that day, he dropped Peter off at a local college's campus building where the FLL* matches were to be held.

 

 _That_ was at 7:30- three hours later, and there was **no hope** of making a hasty exit.

 

He groaned frustratingly.

 

The moment one of his sponsors introduced a new advertising method, Tony knew he would be here even longer than he originally planned.

 

When Tony dropped Peter off with his robotics team, he promised his son his meeting would only last only an hour or so.

 

That was a _really_ crappy estimate.

 

And he **never** missed any of his son's matches. Ever.

 

Tony began to nervously fumble with his fingers under the glass table.

 

While his anxiety fueled him, he hoped Peter wouldn't hate him for being absent during the preliminaries.

 

Besides, those first rounds were easy, and Peter's team _always_ made their way through.

 

And then, his heart stung with the realization that Stephen and Wanda would be at the match by now.

 

He was _missing_ quality time with Stephen and _bonding_ with his own son.

 

He told himself not to worry. They had these meetings thousands of times over. If he played his cards right and said the things his sponsors wanted to hear, he wouldn't be sitting on this office chair for too long.

 

“Alright guys, I think I decided which idea I like _best_ . **Mine**.”

  


He just hoped everyone back at the match was having a good time without him.

  
  


Contrary to Tony's attendance, Stephen and Wanda arrived bright and early.

 

Parking was a killer, and finding a space always seemed to crack Stephen's patience. Luckily, in the seven minutes they spent driving aimlessly around the campus, a security guard helped them find a space for families arriving for the competition.

 

Wanda was used to such crowds because there would be many other kids waiting in groups for auditions, but this robotics competition brought a different atmosphere to the table. She held tightly to her dad's hand as they wove through the crowds.

 

Dressed in their usual business casual, Wanda in a cute pink dress with an added red bow wrapped tight around the waist, and her father in a white button down shirt with dress pants.

 

Her own dress shoes clattered quickly against the tiled floors as she tried to keep up with her dad’s pace and find two familiar faces in the crowd. Peter, or better yet, Tony, who would be looking for them now too.

 

“Dad..” her soft voice showed no hint of potential whining, but she wanted to get through to him to slow down.

 

“I know, sweetie-” Stephen stopped abruptly and Wanda crashed into her dad's long legs. She pushed back and muttered an apology. When Stephen paid her no mind, he took out his phone and called straight to Tony's number. It cut him off and sent him an automated text from Tony that he was in a meeting and couldn't reach the phone at the moment.

 

Stephen stared hard at that message, thinking how unbelievable Tony was to invite them here and not show up. He surveyed the faces of the people walking by to find someone familiar, but to no avail.

 

Everyone else seemed to know where they were going but them. Families came in through the same door they did, and walked straight toward their child's table. Every robotics team seemed to have a table. Each one was surrounded by every member of the team, and at least one school representative. Behind each team was a poster board about the topic they researched. Apparently, this competition wasn't just about coding and liking robots, you also had to learn about how you can help environment through specific issues. This year's challenge was to research how communities could prepare against natural disasters. Stephen was almost intrigued.

 

Lost in his daze of being near impressed, Stephen couldn't hear the a boy's voice calling out to them.

 

Someone grabbed Wanda's hand and the redhead jumped back onto her father's legs from the shock. When she turned to see who it was, Peter's toothy grin met her by surprise.

 

“Hi!!! I can't believe you guys made it!” He greeted cheerfully. He quickly hugged Wanda's arm because she still looked uncomfortable from the previous scare, then Peter hugged Stephen's legs. The brunet looked between the doctor and his daughter.

 

“Where's my dad?” His voice cracked with the realization that Tony hadn't arrived yet. It was unlike him to be this late.

 

“Peter, did you dad tell you he's still at a meeting?” Stephen asked dryly, diverting his attention back to his phone.

 

“He WAS.” Peter squeaked as he raised his chin all the way to stare back up at Stephen. “But he said- he said it was only going to be an hour!” Peter whined some more and looked down at the ground. His chest hurt all of a sudden.

 

Wanda frowned. She noticed how solemn Peter's face became. His body language spoke to her as he sulked and kicked into the ground. She looked at her father, and silently pleaded for him to say something.

 

The doctor sighed and pushed his phone into his back pocket. “Peter, listen,” the authoritative voice made the boy look up on command, “he probably got held up with an important topic. I'm sure he's on his way soon, or.. even driving here as we speak.”

 

Peter nodded slowly as the words sunk in. His dad probably WAS on his way and couldn't call anyone because he knew texting and driving was bad. That seemed to lighten the boy's mood.

 

“Awesome!” Peter cheered. And Wanda smiled back because she was happy for him. And it was amazing how fast he recovered. His grin had re-appeared as if no issue had occurred just mere seconds ago.

 

“Oh!” He shouted in alarm and held his hands in front of him to signal them to stop. “You guys gotta get a shirt-” he pointed to the tee that he was wearing and analyzed their faces. Stephen and Wanda looked significantly interested. Peter’s shirt seemed to match the **Nature’s Fury** theme for the competition. There was an additional school logo and few photoshop effects. “They're SO cool!” He exclaimed further.

 

“I-” Wanda began to express her compliment for the design, but before she could respond Peter ran off, probably back to his team's table. “Hopefully he'll be back.” Stephen muttered and rubbed Wanda's head for comfort as she leaned into his legs.

 

They watched the brunet dive and jump through the crowd until he was completely gone from their sight.

 

Then, a few seconds later, Peter ran back to the duo carrying two shirts between his arms. “Guys I want you to wear these for my team!”

 

“Well, Peter-” Stephen began. “ _PLEASE_.” Peter begged again and held up one shirt so fast, that the other one fell to the floor. “Oh- sorry-” he huffed and bent over quickly to take the shirt. He barely dusted it off before handing it to Stephen, and the other to Wanda.

 

“Do you want us to wear these now?” The doctor asked.

 

“Of course!” Peter replied back. “Oh! I'll show you where the bathrooms are if you wanna change out-”

 

“Well, I can't.” Wanda looked nervously between her father and Peter. “I’m wearing a dress..”

 

“Well, ok.. then you can just pull it over your head!” Peter offered thoughtfully.

 

Wanda blinked at Peter, who just smiled back at her, his eyes urging the girl on to support his team by wearing their branded shirt. She gazed back at the shirt and slipped it over her head timidly. Then she looked up at Stephen. “Father, are you going to change too?”

 

“Uh..” he too stared back at his shirt and decided because the one he had on was so thin, he could just double up and wear two shirts to warm him from the chill in the air. So Stephen simply pulled the shirt over his head and flattened it across his body.

 

Both Wanda and Peter grinned back at the doctor. “You guys look amazing!” He exclaimed and threw his hands up. “Okay, now that you're in uniform, come meet my best friend he's over here!” Peter already started to bolt for the other side of the room.

 

Wanda, without even looking back to Stephen for permission, tried to keep up with the other kid. While Stephen walked briskly behind them.

 

Peter's table was filled with several other parents and team members. Ned, Peter's best friend, stood off to the side, waiting for the engineer's son to return.

 

“Dude where do you keep running off to?” Ned hissed with a whisper. “Mrs. Greenleaf** thinks you stole two shirts!” Ned warned his friend, clearly concerned. Peter halted to a stop before him and said, “I gave it to them.”

 

Both Ned and Peter looked up to see the doctor and his daughter arrive.

 

Peter gestured to each of them. “Ned, these are my dad's friends. Dr. Strange and his daughter, Wanda.”

 

Ned nearly blushed at the sight of the stunning little redhead. “Hey, you've got our shirts.” He dumbly observed out loud.

 

“Peter gave them to us-” she frowned, thinking Ned's comment was an accusation. “I hope that's okay..”

 

“No way, it is!” He held up his hands. “It's alright, you look good!”

 

Wanda blushed shyly and messed with a little strand of her gorgeous red hair.

 

“And uh..” Ned looked between Wanda and her dad. “Pete said you're Dr. Strange?”

 

“That is correct.” Stephen stopped reading the team's poster board and turned his attention to the smaller boy beside Peter.

 

“Yeah, oh man, okay-” Need tried to breathe despite his inner fanboy. “We just read an article about you in science class, remember?”

 

“No.. I don't have science with you-” Peter corrected.

 

“Oh yeah, well, I have science and we read about how you like, you created this whole procedure by taking this tumor out of a girl's head. It was insane!” Ned's voice just kept getting louder and louder, and Stephen's lips cracked a smile at the boy's excitement. He didn't know grade schoolers were reading about him in class. He'll _try_ to not let it go to his head.

 

“Thank you.” Stephen nodded. He still hadn't wiped that smug smile from his face. Peter was really enjoying how everyone was getting along.

 

“Oh _my-_ ” the teacher Ned mentioned before stepped in the way and gazed upon the doctor. “You're Stephen Strange. That's amazing. I've read so many good things about you!” Mrs. Greenleaf quirked her arm between her and Stephen so they could have a proper handshake.

 

“..and you are?” Stephen asked and released her hand. “I'm the elementary school’s science teacher. Ned is in one of my classes.” She gestured to Ned who nervously waved back. Greenleaf just screamed energy, almost as much as Peter. “And then obviously I run our school's robotics team.” She explained further and Stephen only nodded. “Peter, actually-” she waved to him and he grinned. “His dad, Tony Stark, actually sponsors our team. I'm sad to see he didn't make an appearance yet. He's usually here for Peter, and the team itself of course!”

 

“Well, it was Tony who invited my daughter and me to come visit.” Stephen added.

 

“Oh, that's wonderful! He knows _so_ many people. I'm glad you came. And I hope you plan to stay too, because once the matches start, it gets _really_ exciting.”

 

The kids stood on standby as they watched the adults talk.

 

Ned glanced at Wanda, who was watching her dad talk too. She was still combing her curly hair with her fingers.

 

“So, Wanda,” he waved to catch her attention, “does your school have a robotics club too?”

 

“Oh, no, it doesn't.” She shrugged and sighed. “We're... underfunded.”

 

Ned nodded. “Yeah that's unfortunate. Our school didn't even have one until Pete came. And his dad is like, at the top TOP of the robotics pyramid, so. He got connections and stuff, and it's been pretty cool.”

 

Wanda nodded slowly. She enjoyed talking to new kids and making new friends and all, but this science stuff, she could never wrap her head around. And it's unfortunate too, considering who her father was. Compared to Tony and Peter, his son seems to follow a lot in his dad's shoes. Unlike Wanda.

 

Ned saw that Wanda was losing interest and sulked back to Peter to talk about the new issue of Scholastic magazine and Wired.

 

When Wanda was finally left alone, she watched the teacher talk on and on and on and on. And she was so close to her dad, it was like she was trying to **_flirt_ ** with him.

 

And Wanda did **not** appreciate that.

 

For the next few minutes, Wanda glared **hard** at Mrs. Greenleaf. And it was until there was an announcement made by the judges to start the matches that the teacher excused herself and walked away to gather her team.

 

“Good luck-” Wanda told Peter as he ran past her. Ned was following behind him and thought the praise was for him. He beamed a bright smile and turned away.

 

Wanda was already not in the mood for extra stuff with what the teacher tried to pull with her father and all. So, she turned her glance away from Ned and a dark shadow covered her face.

 

All the parents belonging to Peter's school surrounded their table as Mrs. Greenleaf helped Peter raise a huge box and placed it on the table in front of their poster board. Peter stood on his tippy toes to remove the top lid from the container. Everyone leaned in to see the team's Lego robot. Then everyone stepped back to let Peter and his team pass.

 

Wanda, nor Stephen didn't know what to expect. What they did expect was a sort of huge robot on metal feet with a metal body and metal arms and a metal head. But it was really just an odd small box surrounded with several Lego pieces.

 

Stephen felt underwhelmed, but Wanda was beginning to feel intrigued.

 

As everyone followed the teams into the next room filled with a huge arena, Wanda could tell that today was going to be a fun new learning experience.

  
  


By the time Tony got out of his meeting, it was 11:30 A.M.. He cursed the sponsors for making him stay so long. Once the meeting was over, he ran out of that room and down to his car. Before he began to drive, he sat back in his chair to see that he missed a few calls from Stephen- _dammit-_ and that Ned had sent him several messages.

 

He checked the chat for Ned and apparently the kid had been recording all the rounds Tony missed. He sighed. Ned was a lifesaver. He went to text him “thanks for the vids. I'm on my way” before replying similarly to Stephen. Then he drove out of the lot, and went straight to the competition.

 

When Tony arrived, an intern helped lead the mechanic through the halls. The intern opened the doors for him and Tony was greeted by a crowded room full of parents, teachers, and a multitude of little kids.

 

There were some people cheering, some recording, and he had to really step through the crowd to see that they were all surrounding a large arena. And in that big space, the robots were already on their missions.

 

Something didn't settle right with his stomach. And then Tony's sunk. It looked like they were already on the final round of the competition. He missed **_all_ ** of it. He's definitely going to owe Peter an explanation AND a huge bowl of ice cream, probably a sundae.

 

Tony stepped back so he could find Stephen in the crowd. That's _if_ he even came. He wouldn't blame him if he didn't.

 

He was trying to move through the crowds, repeating “I'm sorry” and “excuse me” like a mantra.

 

Then he saw him. Well, he saw Wanda first, jumping excitedly on the sidelines, looking really involved in the match, and then, right behind her was Stephen. Calm and collected, grace under pressure; just like Tony expected of him, despite the mood of the rest of the crowd.

 

Something overcame him as his body moved without command and his feet hit the carpeted ground. He followed the person with the silver hair, the same man with the lean, tall body, gorgeous eyes, compelling voice, and then they were standing side by side.

 

At first, the doctor smirked, sensing the body beside him. “You haven't been returning my calls.

 

“I’m _sorry_ , Stephen.” He sounded exasperated through his apology. “I was busy this morning. But I'm _really_ thankful you guys came anyway.”

 

Tony watched the countdown on the clock. He loathed that there were a few seconds left in the match. But he was proud to see Peter and his team were one of the two teams facing off in the final battle.

 

“Peter doesn't have a lot of friends and I know seeing familiar faces in the crowd really helped him pull through today.”

 

“It's... No problem, Tony. We've been really enjoying ourselves.” The doctor chuckled lightly as he watched his daughter bounce about as a spectator.

 

“Yeah?” Tony gazed into Stephen's eyes.

 

“Yeah.” Stephen gazed back.

 

And all the while Wanda noticed Tony had finally arrived and stared back at her dad and Peter's. She was more so glaring disapprovingly at Tony and staring bafflingly at Stephen.

 

The wheels were turning in her head; somehow, this nine year old figured that Tony didn't just invite them to simply spectate Peter's game.

 

Tony wanted to be _close_ to Stephen.

 

She remembered his complete disregard for personal space as the two fathers sat together on the park bench last Saturday. And she could see him now, how Tony's entire body was turned to attention so he could face Stephen directly. Her dad's heedless glance did nothing to intimidate the longing in Tony's. Wanda knew that look. If these dads were in a cartoon, Tony would be the one character making those stupid heart eyes at her father. With all those stupid pink hearts coming out of his big dumb head.

 

And at this exact moment, Wanda formed a sort of loathing for Tony.

 

He did nothing wrong, yet. But if he kept that lovey dovey gaze up any longer- and- her father was a smart guy, he was a great doctor, so he would catch onto Tony's feelings fast. So when that happened, it wouldn't just be Stephen and Wanda anymore. It would be Stephen and Wanda _and_ Tony and Peter.

 

But it was always Stephen and Wanda. She was happy. And to the best of her knowledge, so was her father.

 

And she didn't want ANYONE breaking their peace.

  


All the while, the buzzer sounded to end the last round of the competition.

 

There was a deafening roar from the audience.

 

Peter's team cheered, they had won, and as far as Wanda could see, so had Tony's heart.

  
  


 

_***** I had a lot of flashbacks to my experience in the First Lego League which helped me write this chapter._

 

_****** Mrs. Greenleaf was actually one of my old science teachers who coached the school's robotics team._


	5. The Way to A Man’s Heart is Through His Daughter

“You know what? I think she  **_hates_ ** me.”

 

“ _ WHO _ ?” Pepper asked doubtfully. The ginger turned on her heels and closed the fridge door in one swift movement.

 

“The daughter of this doctor Tony met at that single dad's club.” Rhodey reminded impassively to calm the concerned yet irritated look on Pepper's face.

 

“Oh. I thought we were talking about  _ some girl _ .” The ginger joined her two friends by the kitchen counter. She sat on the stool by Tony's end, opposite of Rhodey's.

 

“You  _ know _ Tony has  _ not _ been seeing women like that.”

 

“My bad~” Pepper added humorously, popping open the cap to the water bottle she started to drink.

 

“I feel like she's going to out me to Stephen.” Tony groaned aloud again, pressing his fingers harshly to his temple while turning all the attention back to his stressed figure. He slumped against the marbled counter. 

 

“It’s not like you robbed a bank in front of this kid, what's she going to say to her dad?”

 

The mechanic sighed. He clearly looked troubled as he raised his head from the counter and propped himself up on his elbows. “It's not that, it's just..”

 

Tony could vividly remember the dark horrid look Wanda gave him. He was just…  _ smiling _ at Stephen, nothing too harmful, but once he looked down at that small little redhead, her disapproving glare made his stomach churn.

 

Just remembering her frown made Tony shiver.

 

And he did. Violently.

 

“You just.. should have seen her face.”

 

“Maybe you shouldn't have been looking at this guy with your d!ck.” Pepper commented sarcastically.

 

“No- I-” Tony's face scrunched up. “I had a good time and- why do you guys keep using that  _ sick _ phrase?  **_STOP_ ** .”

 

Pepper seemed unaffected by Tony's outrage. She placed her bottle down on the counter and dramatically rose her hand to her chin to think aloud. “So, this guy you like has a daughter. You know how those daddy-daughter relationships are. Especially if it's just been her and her father all her life without a woman or a man slipping into their relationship.”

 

Tony sighed in defeat.

 

“They seem to have a nice thing going too.” Pepper stared at the ceiling as she thought some more. Then she looked to Tony, who seemed more stressed than ever. “But that doesn't mean you don't have anything to bring to the table.”

 

And with that, Tony stared hopefully at Pepper.

 

“Tell me about her.”

 

“About Wanda?”

 

“Yes, the daughter.” Pepper sounded exasperated already.

 

“Well, from what Stephen tells me, she's a musical prodigy.”

 

“Cute. Tell me something.. specific? Does she play an instrument, take dance lessons..?”

 

Tony scoffed playfully. “Oh, all of the above. But she  _ did _ start taking ballet this year.”

 

“Good, okay, that helps.” Pepper pulled out her phone and started typing in something onto her screen.

 

Both Rhodey and Tony stared at her curiously.

 

“It just so happens tickets are on sale now for the Nutcracker.” Pepper looked up from her phone just as she turned it off. “Tony, I think you should take her.”

 

“ _ ALONE? _ ” Tony was shaken at the idea already.

 

“Well,  _ no _ , you could probably sneak a little date in there if you bring Stephen along.” She pointed out as if the option should have been obvious. 

 

“And  _ please _ take Peter.” Rhodey advised, drawing the other two's attention to him. “You guys  _ never  _ do anything together outside of that lab. Let him absorb a little culture.  _ Give him a break _ .”

 

Tony nodded at the advice he was given. He guessed Peter  _ did _ deserve something  _ new  _ and fun to do every now and then.

 

“Look, I've got to go.” Pepper walked quickly across the counter to give Rhodey a hug, then walked around it to give Tony a quick kiss on the cheek. “You buy those tickets, Anthony.” She ordered.

 

“And where's Peter? I want to say bye to him before I go-”

 

“He's in his room practicing a little calc’.” Tony replied, and both he and Rhodey watched Pepper walk briskly, but carefully down the hall in her high heels.

  
  


Once the halls were clear of the sound of her heels hitting the floor, the mechanic returned to his slump.

 

Rhodey saw this reaction and huffed through his nose. “You really are serious about this one, huh?” 

 

Tony nodded his head slowly. His eyes were the only thing unresponsive, which Rhodey could only guess the mechanic was thinking of ways to turn this issue into a way where  _ everyone _ could be happy.

 

“It's just. I haven't seen you this way since Steve.”

 

Those brown eyes were finally re-energized as they shot up to meet black ones. The mention of  _ that _ past snatched Tony right out of his thoughts.

 

“How is  _ that _ going?” Rhodey furrowed his brows. “Do you guys still talk?”

 

“Does it  **look** like we still talk?” Tony asked sharply.

 

“Look. I just wanted to make sure.” Rhodey leaned over the counter. “If you're as serious as you think you are about this doctor, you'll have to tell him about, y'know. Steve.”

 

“I know. And it's no secret. So you  **don't** have to say it like  _ that _ .” Tony leaned back and stared at the tan marbled surface of the counter. He saw Rhodey's hazy reflection in the glass. “I just... have to really feel like I  _ trust _ him first.”

 

“I  _ understand _ , Tony. And I  _ really _ hope this works out. And that you guys.. can make it official. And you can have that  **family** you always wanted.”

 

Tony smiled weakly at that. “Yeah, that would be nice. For Peter.”

 

“And for  _ you  _ too, Tony. You deserve to be happy.” Rhodey reminded.

 

“ _ Heh _ . Yeah,  _ okay _ ,” Tony wiped something from his eyes and pulled out his phone. “I'm going to buy those tickets, y'know.”

 

“Please do. I don't want to find out later that some six year old beat you up.”

 

“Shut up, Rhodes.” 

 

“Fine, fine. But remember, win the daughter, get the daddy.”


	6. Ballet Tickets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I know it's been over a month since I published the last chapter and I WAS trying to aim for monthly updates.. but school got in the way. Anyway, thank you to those who have stuck with me nonetheless.

Take it from Tony, McDonald's was the **best** place to make a third impression.

 

“How are you liking the atmosphere, doc’?” Tony teethed at the tip of his straw before taking another sip of his McShake. “Pretty _classy_ right?”

 

Stephen's chuckle emitted from somewhere deep in his throat as he laughed for the- well, Tony lost track after his third joke. Keep him laughing and eventually a guy will like you soon enough.

 

“I have to _say_ , Tony. I'm having a better time than I thought.” Stephen's hooded grey eyes glanced in his direction and Tony's smile beamed right back. “This isn't our type of restaurant, but we _are_ enjoying ourselves.” The mechanic was lost in their moment until Stephen's gaze unfortunately left Tony's. The doctor wrapped his arm around his daughter to pet her hair. And it was then Tony realized they were still sitting in two booths with their kids in the middle of a crowded McDonald's.

 

Tony blinked away his confusion and leaned back (he did not realize he was leaning over the table either).

 

He cleared his throat and tried to not blush as he directed his attention to his child too. “ _Jesus_ , kid, you're making a mess!” He exclaimed as he quickly snatched some napkins from their table.

 

Peter giggled hard as his dad rubbed off the chocolate icecream around his lips and nose.

 

“I thought I bought you this sundae to eat, and not to apply to your face like **_make-up_ **!” Tony continued to joke as he rubbed another napkin over Peter's cheek to wipe off a stubborn strawberry stain.

 

“I thought it would make me look cute!” Peter pursed his lips as he caught onto the joke.

 

“ _Maybe_ you should try another brand.” Tony replied as he balled up the dirty napkins. “Besides, you're already adorable, you don't need to start using that mess!” Peter began to laugh in agreement as he stuffed fries into his mouth before a disgruntled voice interrupted them.

 

“ _I_ might have to.”

 

Tony glanced across their table to lock eyes with Wanda's sullen face. Her hair seem to have grown **twice** as long since the last he saw her, and part of it covered over her face in heavy, curly red bangs, which made her eyes glow beneath the shadows cast down from her hair. And as rude as it sounds, there was this disturbing... _witchy_ affect to her appearance. Tony kept himself from shivering. He could admit this kid had him a bit spooked.

 

He opened his mouth for a rebuttal, a compliment to get on her good side, but Stephen beat him to the punch.

 

“What's wrong, my little Hewitt*?” Stephen asked a little below a whisper so it could seem the doctor and his daughter were having a conversation between just the two of them. They were so calm and collected to others, but to themselves, you could see they really loved each other. Wanda really did look to Stephen as a proud role model. And Stephen in turn wished to make sure his daughter was comfortable at all times. They whispered together for a few minutes more. Still stunned, Peter chewed with his mouth open as he stared curiously back at Wanda.

 

“Well, for _one_ , all this greasy food is going to make me break out.” She started to comb at her hair, as she usually does when she is nervous or shy. But there was more of an irritation to her composure, and Tony saw the way her hands actually _clawed_ at her curls, forcing them to straighten on command.

 

Slowly, Tony's eyes drew from Wanda's hands to Stephen's face. Though the restaurant was loud, and there was a baby crying somewhere in the background, Stephen still spoke to his daughter in a hushed voice until they came to a resolve. Wanda still plucked at her hair by the time her father moved his arm away. Then, and Tony almost missed this, she **_glared_ ** at him— just _briefly_ though. And then the look was gone and Wanda was back to poking at her food.

 

 _After_ his heart recovered from panging into his chest, Tony attempted to open his mouth. “Stephen.. is everything alright?” He asked, feeling a little guilty. And his face probably showed a little _too_ much of his anxiety because Stephen already looked exhausted at the fact that he had to console _another_ child today. “She's _fine_ , Anthony.” Stephen turned his head to look down at his daughter. “Wanda will just have to adjust her pallette if we'll be sharing more meals with you in the future.”

 

For a brief moment, Tony felt delighted at the mention of a another meeting.

 

“That's great, because _I'VE_ got coupons!” Tony grinned and jiggled his brows playfully. This time Stephen laughed for longer than five seconds and Tony was practically reeling at the sight.

 

Wanda heard their conversation as much as she tried to _ignore_ it. She was fuming silently to herself in her head until she noticed that Peter was _still_ staring at her.

 

“Uh..” she squeaked at the realization and sat up so she could nervously straighten out her white frilly skirt.

 

“Wanda, look at the toy that came with my Happy Meal!” Peter proudly pushed his hand past his tray so it could meet Wanda's. His hand held some generic looking superhero, poorly made out of cheap plastic and faded paint. But despite its obvious aesthetic flaws, Wanda saw that Peter truly loved his new toy.

 

“I.. guess that _is_ cool, Peter.” Wanda barely _Iooked_ at the action figure before diverting her eyes back on Peter himself.

 

“Do you KNOW who this is!??” Peter squeaked as he tried to ask his question loudly over the murmur of the crowd.

 

“No!..” Wanda shook her head softly and looked down at her hands on her lap. “I'm not _into_ superheroes. I'm _sorry_ , Peter.”

 

“WHAT!?” He shouted again. Peter gaped as he looked back and forth between his toy and the nervous little girl.

 

“You'll have to understand I don't have _time_ to watch television or read comic books because I'm _always_ practicing. I can't _afford_ the distraction!” She admitted quickly.

 

Peter was about to counter argue with his knowledge of generations of superheroes far beyond his time before his dad interjected.

 

“Alright. Now. I kinda wanted to tell you guys why I asked you all here. Besides sharing this _delicious_ five star meal.” Tony stared at Stephen as he gestured with a fry in his hand before eating half of it. Stephen, in turn, grinned and rolled his eyes.

 

“Wanda,” Tony called her to attention, and the little girl looked up at him, confused and looking slightly annoyed, “I know how much you like the arts. And.. your dad _did_ just tell me you're starting to take these.. ballet lessons,” Wanda frowned at the thought of her father oversharing personal information with the tech junkie, “so, uh, I went ahead and bought tickets for all of us to see…. **The Nutcracker**.”

 

Wanda's green eyes grew wide at the title of the ballet. Stephen too, seemed to sit up in his seat. “Wow,” the doctor blinked, completely astonished at the gift, “thank you To-”

 

“Oh my! WOW! The Nutcracker!?” Wanda yelled excitedly. “That's amazing! I was hoping you would take me, father.” She held Stephen's closest hand in her tiny palms then looked back at Tony. “And thank you, Mr. Stark! I _really_ wanted to see this ballet!” Tony was astonished at the red head's reaction. He handed her his phone so she could look at the receipt for the tickets. “Wow! Front row!” Her beautiful green eyes gazed at the bright screen between her hands.

 

“Uh.. yeah. Heh.” The mechanic smiled down at Wanda. Stephen was rubbing her back as she bounced on the plastic seat cushion. “Oh! All the girls in my class are going to be _so_ jealous, father!” She kept scrolling through the page on Tony's phone.

 

“What do you think, Pete? Are you up for it?” Tony looked down at his son. They could **_really_ ** use this bonding time too. The brunet shrugged slowly. “It sounds cool. We've... never been, but… Wanda sounds _really_ excited.” He smiled softly at the older girl sitting across from him.

 

“Which **day** did you order for?” Stephen asked attentively, directing his attention back to Tony. “Next Thursday, actually. Yeah, best seats in the house.” He proudly stated, still basking in the praise. “...What **_time_ ** ?” Stephen's expression grew more serious. “7:30 P.M. ..what's wrong?” Tony caught on to Stephen's questions, and he did **not** like where this was going. “Oh.. I'm sorry, Tony. I have a scheduled surgery that day. I **can't** miss that.” Wanda _immediately_ looked away from the phone to stare at her father. She began to look a little upset, and Tony was not going to let them lose their momentum. “Hey, that's alright, doc’.” He interjected quickly. “I can handle the kids on my own. It'll be fun.” Tony replied and put a mask over his face. He smiled back at Stephen like he had this handled. Like he... wasn't bothered at all that Stephen would _really_ be missing out, and Tony would _really_ be missing him. Damn.

 

“If you say so, Anthony…” Stephen looked down at Wanda again while he pet his daughter's head to comfort her. “We'll have to buy you a whole new outfit for this. Your first play.” He spoke sounding proud of her. Wanda nodded slowly. “You won't even be there to _see_ it with me.” She whispered with a shaky breath. Though Wanda understood her father's position in the medical field and how he was in high demand, Stephen still did a great job dividing his work and his time to build a strong relationship with his daughter. But this would be the **first** event Wanda would attend without him. “I'll be there to drive you home afterwards.” He rubbed her soft cheek and Wanda hid her face from Tony and Peter as she faced her father. “And you can tell me _everything_ you saw.”

 

Wanda didn't respond. She just nodded her head slowly. “Yes, father.”

  
  
  


Thursday couldn't have arrived faster.

 

Luckily, Tony bought himself another suit just for the hell of it (and to show Stephen what he was missing) and a second suit for Peter. It was Peter's **first** fancy outfit, so Pepper made sure to stop by before they left and almost made them late by taking too many pictures.

 

“Tell me how it goes.” She kissed Tony then planted a bigger one on Peter's forehead.

 

“Yeah, I'll text you.” Tony waved her off while stepping into his car.

 

“ _Call_ me.” Pepper corrected.

 

“Right.” Tony rolled his eyes and Peter just smiled at the two of them.

  
  


Parking wasn't as bad as Tony expected. They arrived as early as he thought Stephen would. And the two duos met each other at the entrance.

 

Wanda was wearing a _gorgeous_ , long red dress. Dresses, Tony thought, really do separate the girls from the women. If Stephen wasn't careful, Wanda would be applying to colleges in no time. Tony nodded as he and Peter walked up to them.

 

“ _Wow_ , Wanda! Is that you?” Peter grinned and looked up at the taller girl.

 

“Hello, Peter.” She smiled down at the younger boy. She wore dark red lipstick, which was the only type of makeup she was bold enough to wear tonight, and she hugged her tiny white purse against her front. Her long red curls were also styled to flow behind her back, and around her shoulders and arms was a white dress jacket. Stephen, looking surprisingly underdressed for as long as Tony had known him had still looked as handsome as ever. Just the casual dress pants with a teal button down shirt.

 

“Having second thoughts?” Tony nearly sauntered toward Stephen.

 

“Why would I?” Stephen glanced in Tony's direction. Clearly he wasn't catching onto the engineer's flirts.

 

“I thought at the sight of me, you might want to change your mind.” He smirked.

 

“Very, funny, Anthony. I have to leave in a few minutes.” And that was all Stephen would say about tonight. Pepper's going to have a field day with this one.

 

“Uh, so.” Tony tried again. “Wanda looks amazing, y'know.”

 

“I _do_ .” Stephen replied. “A few of her friends from her ballet class came over earlier to help her 'get ready.’ They applied so much makeup that Wanda only agreed to wear the lipstick. Which even _I_ think is too much.” He frowned disapprovingly. But Tony knew Stephen allowed it just this once for this _special_ moment. This was really a big deal to their kids. The dads looked on as Wanda let Peter take a selfie of them.

 

“Is it okay if I send this to Ned?? Oh! And a copy for our dads of course to!” Peter asked trying to be polite. Wanda was trying to say yes, but Peter was already ahead of the game.

 

Stephen rolled up his sleeve to check his watch. Tony noticed this particular watch was gold, a different color than the one Stephen usually wears. Which means the doctor might have a secret collection of watches. Tony smirked at the possibility. The doctor had many hobbies. Cooking, watch collection. It was cute. He wanted to know more but he knew time was short and he couldn't press on. For now. “I have to go.” Stephen stated aloud for everyone. Wanda looked up and rushed to her father's side. Stephen grunted as he kneeled down for her. “You're going to have _so_ much fun.” He told her slowly. “Listen, you have _my_ number, and Wong's for emergencies. But he doesn't _drive_ , so only call him if it is _absolutely_ necessary. And please **do not** get lost. Do not leave to go _anywhere_ with _anyone_ unless you alert Tony first, do you understand me?” He looked straight into his daughter's eyes. “Yes, father.” She replied sadly. And she hugged him tight before Stephen stood up turned to leave.

 

“We'll text you when we get out!” Tony called after him. He snuck a look at Stephen's backside before returning his attention to the kids and his next babysitting job for the next three hours. “Alright. Let's get some snacks. Who's hungry?”

 

“Me!” Peter sung as he raised his hand.

 

Then in the next minute, Peter grabbed Wanda's hands and lead them inside the growing crowd with Tony smiling happily behind them.

  
  
  


That evening had to be one of the best nights of Wanda's life.

 

Tony treated her and Peter to as much candy as they wanted (with the promise that Wanda wouldn't tell Stephen). Then they snuck the extra snacks into their pockets and Wanda's tiny purse.

 

During the play, Peter was amazed at the scenery and lights and just the atmosphere of being in such an illustrious building. He and Tony kept asking her questions throughout the scenes and she giggled quietly and answered what she could. It was her first time seeing the Nutcracker too, y'know, so she wasn't exactly an expert, but it felt good the way she was being treated as such. It was almost as if she forgot that she was still supposed to **_hate_ ** Tony.

 

After the play, they exited the theatre together. Peter and Wanda still talked excitedly about what they saw and how they felt about the dancers and the music. Tony listened to their little conversations as he tried to call Stephen. When the doctor didn't answer, he texted him. When it went five whole minutes without a response, Tony decided to stop pestering the man. “Alright, Wanda, your dad doesn't seem to want to pick up. His loss.” He shrugged playfully.

 

“That's _okay_ , Mr. Stark.” Wanda turned to face Peter's father. “He can get extremely busy with his work. He might still be performing an operation right now.”

 

“Shouldn't those things take minutes.” Tony thought aloud.

 

“Well… I'm not sure.” She looked down. “We don't know the seriousness of the case. He does not disclosure his patient's information. It's probably **confidential**.” She guessed.

 

Tony nodded at how aware Wanda was. He was still adjusting to how well mannered this nine year old was. It was amazing. Well, sometimes. “So…What's the plan now, guys?” Tony shoved his hands into his pockets.

 

“You could drive me home.” Wanda suggested quietly.

 

“Yeah..?”

 

“Yes. I have a spare key.”

 

“Of course. Uh, yeah.” Tony looked into the lot for his car. “Alright. Let's go.”

 

Tony carefully led himself and the kids through the crowded lot until they found his car.

 

When they buckled in, he turned on the car and started driving out into the city streets. “Hey, I've got an idea.”

 

“Yeah?” Peter asked from the backseat beside Wanda who decided to look out the window instead.

 

“Why don't we order out for everyone when we get to their place? Chinese sound good?” Tony looked through the front mirror to see the kid's reactions.

 

“Mmh!” Peter hummed. “That sounds great! What do you think, Wanda?”

 

“That sounds nice.” She replied softly.

 

“Great. Peter?” He tossed his phone to the backseat and his son caught it. “You know what to do.”

 

As Peter ordered the usual meal, Tony drove them to Stephen's penthouse. He was pretty anxious to go up there. It was a good looking building, and he trusted Wanda knew where to go. They walked in and past security. The guards didn't even mind the nine year old leading two unfamiliar men to the _private_ elevator. Tony shrugged it off. As they went up, Peter poked his dad's leg so he could give him back the phone. “Thanks kid.” He smiled down at Peter.

 

When they finally reached their designated floor, Wanda led them down another long hall and to a large doorway.

 

“We're here?” Tony asked as Peter gazed around the blank white walls of the halls. The view was surprisingly plain, for now at least.

 

“Yes.” Wanda replied and fished around in her purse for her spare key. She took out the key through the lock and stepped back as the doors automatically slid into the walls.

 

“Nice.” Tony nodded and stepped in beside Wanda.

 

To their left was an open kitchen. Tony's stomach fluttered because he just knew that it was _here_ where Stephen cooked as he and Tony shared their first call together. It was clean, hints of silver and white splashed the room as the theme. Right in front of them was a beautiful living room. A circular couch, a large table in the middle, and a TV stuck into a wooden wall.

 

“We can wait _here_ until the food and my father arrives.” Wanda ordered as she saw Tony walk too far into the penthouse.

 

“Right. Yeah.” Tony took his hands out of his pockets and called Peter over to sit beside him on the black couch.

 

Peter still wandered around until Tony called him _again_ and Peter ran right beside his dad to sit down first.

 

Wanda left them without saying a thing. Tony rubbed Peter's back until she returned and sat far across from them.

 

Soon enough, a small bell echoed melodically through the whole room. “Father must be here!” Wanda sat up excitedly.

 

“That's alright, Wanda, let me go check.” Tony said, standing up at the same time as Wanda. He walked towards the door and it opened for him to reveal one of the guards who brought in the delivery man who was holding three heavy bags of food.

 

“Your take out, sir.” The small delivery boy said. Tony took out change and paid the kid. He thanked both men before stepping back. The doors simply closed in front of Tony.

 

“Mr. Stark?” Wanda called out, there was slight worry in her voice.

 

“I'm good. Food's here!”

 

Wanda and Peter smiled at each other.

 

“I'd say let's wait for Stephen but I'd rather not let this good food go cold. You guys dig in. I'll save a box for your dad.”

 

Wanda nodded. She and Peter stood up to divide the food until Tony heard the doors open again.

 

“I've got it.” Tony told the kids as he moved away from the couches again. Who he saw made him sigh with relief. Stephen came home, right on time.

 

“Hey! There he is. Welcome home, doc’.”

 

And in that moment, there was something about Stephen’s smile that provided Tony with all the thanks he’ll ever need.

 

 

 

 

_***Angela Hewitt** reference. One of Stephen's many pet names for Wanda in relation to people in musical fields._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter was worth the wait because some secrets will be revealed in the next one.


	7. Round Two

Dinner was _delicious_ . You can't ever go wrong with take out. And that's _exactly_ what Tony **repeatedly** proclaimed throughout the night.

 

“This _is_ pretty good.” Stephen commented fondly as he leaned into his hand to take a huge bite out of his egg roll. His thin pink lips parted widely to savor the juicy fried appetizer. There was a small trail of oil that escaped from the side of the doctor's lips as he pulled away from the roll and chewed thoroughly. It made its small trek down to his bearded chin as Stephen continued to chew, oblivious to the stain. And directly across the table sat Tony, who was lucky enough to watch the entire scene unfold.

 

As Stephen swallowed his bite, Tony simultaneously gulped and watched the doctor's adam apple bob. Stephen then proceeded to suck at his thumb with deep earnest to lick away at any excess oil.

 

“You haven't touched your plate.” Stephen commented immediately as soon as the act was done.

 

“Yeah, heh- you're _right_ .” Tony quickly grabbed for one of those plastic forks so he wouldn't get caught staring. “I was just uh- having trouble _chewing_.” He cleared his dry throat and poked at his food.

 

“I think you should start eating your share.” Stephen began to take another bite of his egg roll. “You were very generous with ordering for all of us.”

 

“Hah, yeah, of course! I'm sure you're really hungry after performing that operation, doctor. How _is_ your patient?”

 

“Fine, now that _I_ was able to get to him. Apparently he had went through two other doctors before me.” Stephen wiped his hands and frowned with distaste. “I don't _like_ being anyone's third choice. Or _second_ . But his _recovery_ was worth it.”

 

“I guess we can deduce that you _did_ perform well.”

 

“You _can_. And so was his pay.”

 

“I can imagine.”

 

“Yes, my father _does_ work up an appetite after surgery.” Wanda interrupted their moment by walking back over to their side of the living room and smiled proudly at her father. “Sometimes I'm even lucky to cook for him when he comes home.”

 

“Sometimes I can't even wait.” Stephen reached over to delicately rub her cheek. “I do tend to buy a little something from the vending machine after work—”

 

“In which I have respectfully suggested that you stop. There _is_ food at home.”

 

Tony interrupted their friendly banter. “Wow, uh—” he looked surprised, and _confused_ to learn of yet _another_ of Wanda's talents. “You _cook_ , Wanda?”

 

“Only a little bit.” She responded softly while quickly glancing in Tony's direction.

 

Stephen gave her one small smile before she gracefully turned to walk across the room and back to where she and Peter sat near her living room piano.

 

“Wanda!” Stephen called after his daughter before she could sit down. “You're home now, sweetie. You can change out of that dress and into something more comfortable.”

 

The dress _was_ hard to sit in. And in certain places it hugged her body. She was already aware at how Stephen wasn't a fan of dresses that oversexualized women, especially for poor girls her age. But there was no getting around it when they went shopping for one; and the shopkeeper was so insistent that this _was_ the perfect dress for her, and Wanda, basking in the compliment, agreed. But despite all this, Stephen wanted his daughter out of that dress until she was old enough. So Wanda complied. Tony turned in his seat to observe how their kids huddled on a separate bench and table beside the piano. Wanda whispered an “excuse me” to Peter before she stepped away to walk down the wide hallway and turned to the right where Tony guessed the bedrooms were located.

 

Following in the next few minutes, Wanda returned wearing lounge clothes. She looked more relaxed wearing this.

 

She walked over to Peter, sat down, and they continued to finish their meal, chatting away as if they had _never_ been interrupted.

 

“I.. um.” Stephen began talking and that surely turned Tony's attention back to the doctor one _hundred_ percent.

 

“I want to thank you again for taking Wanda out today, and treating her to a ballet.” Stephen reached for his pocket and pulled out a wallet and Tony knew _exactly_ where this was going.

 

“Woah, okay, _Stephen_.” He held up his hands and frowned. “You don't have to pay me, Wanda deserved that treat.”

 

“I'm sure those tickets were _very_ expensive Tony, and you weren't even able to use all four due to my absence..” Tony squinted as he watched Stephen's hand flip through the wads of bills in his wallet and— _was that a hundred? Hell no_ —

 

“Stephen, _please_ , I don't want you paying me for treating Wanda.” Stephen paused. “We all had a _good_ time and it was a _nice_ night out for us. I think I was paid _enough_ just to get her to smile for me.” Tony respond honestly. And Stephen saw the honesty matched the genuine look of joy on the mechanic's face.

 

The doctor nodded slowly and retracted his hand from his wallet. He placed it down on the cushion beside him as Tony sighed with relief.

 

“You're a _very_ generous man, Tony Stark.” Stephen's gorgeous grey eyes were half lid, and his smile was small, but the doctor was very grateful. Tony proceed to drink some of that soda he was neglecting to quench his thirst.

 

“And uh— we both know I don't _need_ the money.” Tony commented while chuckling as both men began to refill their plates. “Because _sh!t._ I'm loaded too.”

 

Tony knew that would make Stephen laugh.

  


The night continued on all the same. Tony got to have a mini private meal with Stephen as he allowed the doctor to talk more about his job.

 

Five minutes into memorizing the way Stephen's dark brown hair curls over his forehead the room began to fill with the melodic sounds of the piano.

 

“Woah!” the mechanic chuckled. “Who's playing that music?” he turned in his seat again to look across the room.

 

“Dad, that's Wanda!” Peter exclaimed in amazement.

 

It was all emitting from the middle of the room where Peter and Wanda sat together on the bench as she performed a little song for her guests.

 

“Wanda, you play beautifully, sweetie! And she's got a _skilled_ pair of hands.” The mechanic glanced slyly at the doctor, “just like her father.”

 

“It's just the difference is, my 'skilled’ pair of hands cure people.” Stephen leaned back into the couch. “And Wanda has trained hers.. to make beautiful music.”

“ _So_ , doctor, what you're suggesting.. is that a pianist _cannot_ use the same tactics to perform surgery?”

 

“God, I sure hope not.”

 

Both Tony and Stephen shared a laugh at that.

 

“Excuse me!” Wanda suddenly stopped playing to address her father. “May I show Peter my room?”

 

“Yes, go ahead.” Stephen smiled at his daughter. “Oh, and Peter, please take your shoes off the moment you leave this room.”

 

Peter nodded enthusiastically before Wanda took his hand and they quickly walked down the hallway together.

 

Tony felt like this would be a great opening to suggest a ‘tour’ of Stephen's room, but he didn't want the doctor to get the wrong idea too soon.

 

He just lowered his head and thought of what could have been while he finished off his plate.

 

“I'm very amazed at how well they've bonded.” Tony raised his head at the sound of Stephen actually starting a conversation himself.

 

In his head, the doctor recalled a time when Wong reminded him to help Wanda meet a _good_ friend.

 

“Yeah, I mean,” Tony leaned back and wiped his mouth with a napkin, “I thought of the ballet for Wanda, but.. I would never have thought _Peter_ would enjoy it too. I like that they found common ground. I really think they can be friends Stephen. I'm glad we did this.”

 

Stephen nodded at Tony's words. “Peter's a great kid. And I'm surprised you've managed to stay single for this long.” Something nasty pulled at Tony's stomach. “Who _wouldn't_ want to raise him with you?”

 

And with _that_ Tony shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Actually, doc’. I have to be honest with you.” His mouth went dry so he reached for his drink. “I know I said Peter was adopted before, but, that's not entirely true.” Stephen looked at him curiously and raised a brow. Time seemed to come to a halt the moment it realized this was honesty hour. “He's actually a surrogate between me and my ‘ex’.” Tony paused to drink the last of his soda. He gulped harshly. “Or at least the-guy-I-haven't-spoken-to-in-months.” Stephen had stayed quiet to give Tony time to explain further.

 

“He..” Tony's eyes flickered over to Stephen's face. “Was my _boyfriend_ in high school.” He watched Stephen closely to see if there was going to be a response to Tony speaking out loud about his sexuality. But there was no retort from the doctor so far, so the mechanic continued. “We started dating during our junior year. And when we graduated, he went to military school and I went to college. That summer after graduation I really worked it through our heads that I wanted us to have a family. And so we went for it. And it felt serious at first.” Tony shrugged lightly. “Steve helped us find a surrogate and as he went through his training, he sent in money to help me with funds for the mom who was going to deliver our son. God, I dreaded it, but I knew it was coming.. He eventually got drafted.”

 

Tony gulped and stared hard at the leftovers on the table.

 

“Steve left me to take care of the baby on my own. And y'know,” he chuckled nervously, “ _I.._ still had to go to college to support our kid. And I couldn't ask my folks for help. What with my father and all.. But luckily, I had made friends with this sweet lady who Peter likes to call **Aunt May*** . She would watch Pete for me until I graduated. And.. then she watched him _again_ so I could get my Master’s.” Tony sighed and hung his head. “Sure, Steve and I kept in touch when we could. Really, when _he_ could. He was always so busy.. and I— I had to learn to be _patient_.”

 

Stephen sat up and continued being an intentive listener.

 

“Right after I got my M.D, there was radio silence from Steve, and I was so caught up with the start of my company and finally getting a chance to RAISE Peter that I finally realized I could.. _maybe_ .. do all this.. by **myself**. And I did. And.. well? It's been seven great years ever since.” He released a shaky breath and placed his soda can down on the table.

 

When he fell silent, Tony raised his head to look at Stephen, who was as unreadable as ever.

 

For Sephen too was staring at the mess of a table, probably too focused on how dirty it became and that Tony was a slob who was too heartbroken to ever learn how to clean.

 

But then a minute or so after Tony's confession, Stephen opened his mouth. “When was the last time you talked to Steve?”

 

“It's really been a _couple months_ , doc’.” Tony replied sadly.

 

Stephen slowly nodded. And without another response, Tony began to **regret** opening his big mouth.

 

“I'll.. uh. I'll help you clean this up.” Immediately, Tony stood to gather all the trash and the memories of tonight. His brain was fuzzy. He hadn't talked OUT LOUD about Steve like this in months.

 

Stephen too reached for the leftovers and began to move away from the couches to store the food away in proper containers.

 

Tony trashed what he needed to and they continued to clean in silence.

 

When Stephen's job was done, he leaned over the counter to watch Tony stuff the last of the trash into the bin. He saw how forceful the mechanic was with the trash bags and knew he was only putting so much pressure on the can because he was in internal disagreement with himself. He didn't know why Tony looked like he was regretting the last ten minutes.

 

“Thank you for sharing your story, Tony.” Stephen blinked.

 

He saw Tony part his lips to breathe. The mechanic only nodded in response and licked his dry lips before he turned away.

 

Tony came back carrying the last bit of trash and tossed it. Then he finally laid his eyes on Stephen's clearly _observing_ ones and flexed his hands nervously. “Uh. It's getting late.” He commented first, despite his rising anxiety.

 

“I know.” Stephen stood up and walked away from the counter. He took a few slow steps forward. “It became so late so fast.” Now they were standing before each other and Tony was holding his breath. The doctor was staring down at the mechanic and it shouldn't be this intimidating but it was. Luckily, the sound of their kids racing down the halls broke the tension.

 

“Whew. Hey, Pete, we gotta get on the road, bud.” Tony greeted his son and ruffled his hair. He kneeled down because it looked like Peter was about to say something.

 

“Dad! Dad!! Wanda showed me her room and she has like so many instruments and stuff and she got this one imported from Africa, and her piano was colored red it's really cool!!” Peter couldn't stop shouting his admiration for Wanda and her art collection.

 

Wanda only blushed and crept closer to her father who brushed her curly hair for comfort. They quietly watched the engineer and his son reunite.

 

“That sounds _really_ cool and Wanda is a _great_ girl, isn't she Pete.” Tony replied, trying to keep up the enthusiasm, but he was clearly showing signs of exhaustion.

 

“YES! SHE IS!” Peter exclaimed with sudden energy.

 

“Woah, okay!” Tony chuckled and moved to hold his hand. “Well, we gotta go, bud. You need your sleep. Go get your coat.” They let go of each other's hands and Peter ran to the door.

 

Stephen walked over to Tony and Peter and took Tony's coat off the hook. As Wanda went to say her goodbyes to Peter, Tony shyly turned to Stephen.

 

“Yeah, uh, thanks.” He said softly, reaching for his coat without looking the doctor in his eyes.

 

“Tony, I know you just… told me that having a second parent for Peter is complicated,” Tony slipped both his arms through his coat while Stephen continued, “but, I think you never needed one. I think.. you two have gotten along well enough.” They both turned to see their kids excitedly chatting together. Tony blinked rapidly and saw how happy Peter was. His son was _always_ happy. And Tony could have been too. But there was always something missing and without _Steve_ , that was always going to be the case. No matter what _anyone_ said. But hearing that from Stephen really made him rethink his chance on happiness. _Meeting_ Stephen made him rethink _a lot_ of things.

 

Tony didn't respond. Though he should have. That was great advice, but he was lost in the vast innocence of his son. His eyes couldn't leave Peter's face, so Stephen was left unanswered.

 

“Tony.” The doctor attempted again.

 

Tony snapped out of his trance and confidently turned to face Stephen. He began to button up and slow his erratic heart rate. “ _Yeah_?—”

 

“Now you know my address if you need the company.”

 

Tony wanted enough time to figure the hidden meaning behind that statement, but he figured knowing enough about their relationship now, Stephen was only trying to be a good friend.

 

“Oh, please, can we?” Peter heard what Stephen said and went to give Tony's leg a tight hug. “I wanna come back and play with Wanda! She said she might actually teach me an instrument.”

 

“Yeah? Wow, that's really nice of you, Wanda.” Tony sounded surprised as he looked toward the kids. “How much do the first set of lessons cost?” He tried to make a joke the moment he felt his heart rate set to normal.

 

As Wanda and Peter tried to continue the joke by agreeing on a price, their dads listened on and smiled.

  
  


On their drive home, Peter couldn't stop talking about how much fun he had with Wanda. He told his dad about how she wanted her father to have a studio installed in their house so she could have a separate room to practice her ballet in. And then he told his dad about the wonderful tour Wanda gave him around her room. It was cluttered with instruments, organized to the best of her ability, but it was mostly filled with this beautiful collection of colored violins as vast as the rainbow and her prized violin which was the first one she was taught with.

 

“Yeah, you guys sound like you had a good time.” Tony tried looking up at the mirror to see the little boy sitting in the backseat. “Yeah, we did!” Peter giggled.

 

“Yeah.. uh, that's good.” Tony gulped then went back to keeping his eyes on the road like a good driver.

 

“So, what did Wanda say about me?”

 

“What do you mean?” Peter asked innocently.

 

“I mean, did she say anything about me? That I was nice? That the ballet was a good idea…?”

 

“Oh! Yeah, she said it was so cool.“ Peter started giggling again and God, his laugh was so contagious, Tony's lip curled upwards. “She jumped on her bed and was dancing around like she could repeat the moves! And then she told me her ballet class are going to be studying the Nutcracker for their next performance and she said she could boast to all of her friends at ballet that she saw the show before they could!”

 

Tony felt a little pride in that. He helped Wanda be successful on her next dance. He was also _really_ glad to hear Wanda enjoyed herself.

 

With the daughter finally warming up to him, maybe she wouldn't get in the way between him and his advances on Stephen. And the doctor seemed cool enough with his relationship with Steve. _Maybe they did have a chance_.

 

His heart caught in his throat as he unfortunately remembered how passionate he was about starting this family with Steve at a time when they were young, stupid, and in love. Sure, they started off well enough.. but… things fell apart and Steve hardly got to see Peter unless it was through a cam. He wished they had more time then.

 

 _But with Stephen,_ he _actually_ put in effort. **_With_ ** Stephen, the doctor went out of his **busy** week to take himself _and_ his daughter to Peter's match like a **good father** would. And even though Tony was _late_ , Stephen **stayed** anyway and actually had a great time! There were no words to describe how relieved and _happy_ Tony was in that moment to see he had stayed.

 

But… despite all this, he didn't know how he would go about explaining these sudden feelings to Peter.

 

“Dad? Dad! Can you open the door?” Peter was practically yelling at him now. Tony had subconsciously drove them back to their building despite being completely lost in his thoughts. “Yeah, sorry, Pete-” Tony mumbled. He was still in a daze as he pressed the button to unlock the door.

 

Once they were inside, they hung up their coats and Tony just stood in the hallway, a ghostly figure of the dark, as he watched Peter, without a care in the world, walk toward a hall leading to his bedroom. He had to say something before Pete got the wrong idea or heard it from someone else. Now. Or never.

 

“Hey, Pete, come here for a sec’.” Tony started toward the living room and Peter came back and slowly walked in to stand near the couch beside his dad. He was curious as to why Tony looked so.. lost.

 

“Papa… what's wrong?” Peter only called Tony “papa” when he saw something was terribly bothering his dad. His voice sounded so small.. and weak; something Tony hadn't heard in a long time. “Hey pal, come sit down.” Tony patted the cushion beside him. Pete did as his dad told him to and sat. Tony in turn, stood up and kneeled before Peter so they could face each other. Tony held his son's little hand between his large and calloused ones. “Hey, Pete, so.. I know you probably don't remember much of him; it's terrible, I know, but— I do think of him. A lot.” Tony rambled nervously without even mentioning his name yet.

 

“ _Who?_ ” Peter's voice cracked with worry.

 

“Steve. You remember your other dad? The one I said was away and fighting to protect this country _and_ you?”

 

“Yeah…?” Peter frowned. He didn't know where this was going. When he became old enough to remember memories, he heard the name Steve only in whispers.

 

“Well, I know he's not around as much as a dad should. But, what if I found someone who could?” Tony looked into his son's eyes for a response and Peter continued to look more and more confused. Emotions weren't exactly something they talked about. Sure they shared many things, but to teach his son about _feelings_ wasn't one of them.

 

Peter wanted his dad to continue and explain what _exactly_ he was getting at so Peter could create a proper response. So his son stayed quiet.

 

“What I mean is, when.. y'know, grown ups don't have a partner for a long time, they might.. want a new one.” His eyes were beginning to glaze over.

 

Peter was wearing the same unreadable face as Stephen when Tony explained the situation between him and Steve.

 

“Because.. my.. other dad isn't ever coming back?”

 

“Well— see, it's because of that— since I _don't_ know if he will, I want to find someone who is **willing** to stay.”

 

Peter nodded slowly.

 

“Wouldn't you want that? A second father— or… mother, to love you as much as I do and play with your toys and go to your matches?” Tony tried to find the yearning in Peter's eyes as much as he did in his own heart.

 

“Why would I need another parent when you already do all those things for me?”

 

The logic did hit Tony like a truck. And he didn't want to say Stephen's name to show who and why it was and that Tony really wanted this to happen so badly. But he kept the option open, so Peter didn't know he was picking favorites already.

 

“Well, um. Because how fun did it feel when Stephen ( _he was only using the name as an example_ ) came to your match and saw you play even when I wasn't there yet? Because we could have someone like that?”

 

“With Dr. Strange?”

 

“I mean..  it doesn't have to be with _him_ , unless you really like him.”

 

“I do..”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Yeah.” Peter smiled weakly. “Don't you?”

 

“I— Heh. I guess I do. You have fun with Stephen, right? So what if I found someone I wanted to be with, and they could be all those things for us?”

 

Peter thought for a moment. Adults were so weird, he thought. “I mean…” his voice was so soft, Tony could barely _hear_ him. But he didn't force his son to speak up. If he was comfortable at this volume, he wouldn't have him any other way. “As long as you're **happy**.”

 

For a long time Peter could feel that Tony was sad. He didn't know _why_ or if there was _any_ chance at all to fix the issue. But finally, a solution presented itself, and like any error he could find, like a simple program on java, he could find that error and correct it. And if inserting a partner into the equation would help his dad be... happy? So be it.

 

Tony nodded and leaned in to hug Peter. He hugged him real tight, kissed his head and then he let go. When they pulled apart, Tony smiled weakly at Peter. Peter shyly smiled back. When he felt like there were no more words left to say, Peter stood up and walked out of the room to go to bed.

 

Tony silently watched his son leave.

 

_As long as you're happy._

 

“Yeah.” Tony chuckled sadly and shook his head. “Everyone seems to want that nowadays.” The mechanic wiped something from his eyes and stood up to get his first good night's sleep in a long time.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thanks for reading this far. I'm glad I got to finish this before the new year. Have a good holiday!


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